Rust
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Whenever Weiss went into town, she always ran into Penny to the point where she suspected it was more than just coincidence. At first, she would mull through those times, trying to drown the girl out as she offered endless compliments about Weiss's hair, her dress, her boots. But at some point, the words had become more endearing than meaningless. [WeissxPenny, aka Cold Hard Cash].


**This fic is dedicated to my friends Kyle (eviipaladin) and Kris (kriswitherkay). They are both great friends of mine and I wanted to give them a little something for their troubles!**

**I liked to the call Weiss/Penny ship Cold Hard Cash. Cold because of Weiss' ice, hard because Penny's a bit robotic, no? And cash because pennies are the smallest forms of money, which Weiss has a lot of. It's also a well-known phrase haha.**

**This is based off the headcanon that Penny is some kind of robot/cyborg, since nothing's confirmed at this point.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Rust

The streets of Vale were lined with bustling shops and lively crowds of people – which was precisely why Weiss was heading for the quieter, less stressful atmosphere of the local park.

She had all but forgotten about the ginger-haired girl who sauntered at her side, considering Penny kept darting off every five seconds to look at something in the windows or compliment the random passerby. But when she mentioned how nice another girl's "body structure" was, it was the final straw. A growl rose in Weiss' throat, laden with undisclosed jealousy.

Penny perked up instantly at the sound and quickly directed her attention back to the heiress. "Weiss? What's the matter?" she queried in that unchanging, high tone of hers.

Miffed, Weiss pointedly extended her arm to Penny and turned her face away as she grumbled, "Hold my hand, you nitwit."

Penny straightened up immediately as she gave a quick salute. "Oh, right! Allow me to do so!" She entwined her fingers with Weiss', and the heiress gave a bit of a relieved sigh now that she had her girlfriend's attention again.

As they continued toward the park, Weiss recounted the events of several weeks ago that had brought the two of them to this point. It had been a long and complicated process, a roller coaster of confusion and denial.

Whenever Weiss went into town, she always ran into Penny to the point where she suspected it was more than just coincidence. At first, she would mull through those times, trying to drown the girl out as she offered endless compliments about Weiss' hair, her dress, her boots. But at some point, the words had become more endearing than meaningless, and Weiss felt she knew exactly when that had been.

She remembered about a month ago when she had left Beacon in a fluster one morning without informing her teammates, simply needing some time to herself. She had retreated to Vale – because she could think of nowhere else to go, or because she secretly wanted to bump into Penny, she did not entirely know.

That was the day the girl had complimented not her hair or clothes, but her scar. Weiss still subconsciously smiled a little whenever she recalled the words shared between them that day.

Penny had been smiling as always as she bounded alongside Weiss, chattering aimlessly and asking mindless questions about everything and anything, not caring when Weiss did not give her an answer. She had cut herself off halfway through a thought to look at Weiss, asking if something was the matter.

When Weiss had coldly refuted her, Penny had not shrunk away – she had smiled. "You know, I think your eyes are very pretty, Weiss. Especially the left one. The pink trail down your cheek is very mysterious and lovely!"

Weiss had halted her pace abruptly and brought a hand to her eye, realizing what the girl meant by "pink trail".

That was the day she had started thinking differently of Penny.

Somehow, through a messy and occasionally embarrassing process, they had come to more or less romantic terms. Penny had a way of asking questions so that Weiss never even realized the kind of information she was giving away, hence opening up about herself almost subconsciously.

However, it was not very hard to learn Penny's secrets; she never beat around the bush, always gave direct answers. This was how Weiss had gotten to learn just about everything of the peculiar girl's history while somehow managing to comfortably reveal certain things about herself as well.

Which brought them to the present.

They had finally reached the park, and Weiss was impressed that Penny was still keeping a hold on her hand. It had taken nearly two days of rigorous explanation on the heiress' part to teach her how to hold hands properly, so it was certainly nice to see her efforts come to fruition.

Penny wore a wide smile on her lips as she gazed about the area where buildings had been replaced by trees, green grass, and a small pond. The bushes were budding with new blossoms, peppering the view with patches of yellow and purple and pink. Weiss found it adorable how the girl's teal eyes always widened in wonder whenever she glimpsed the flowers, and she hid a small smile to herself.

She felt the grip on her hand tighten a little as Penny asked in an excited voice:

"Where would you like to sit?"

A valid inquiry.

Weiss cast her gaze about once more, only to realize every bench in sight had been occupied; the warmer weather had brought forth the masses, it seemed.

Therefore, she led Penny toward the pond where a grassy hill sloped gently down to the calm water's edge.

"How about here?" she offered.

Penny presented her with a beaming smile that was almost blinding.

"I think this spot would be _wonderful!_" she chirped.

"Alright then." Weiss slowly sat herself down, tugging Penny with her. She had deliberately selected this spot for various reasons.

Firstly, it was peaceful listening to the slight lapping of the water's miniature waves, and the sound could easily dismiss trivial problems plaguing the mind. Secondly, there were bushes shielding them from the views of most passerby, and the seclusion was preferable when one had a significant other at their side.

But the reasons that held the most weight to Weiss' choice of this spot were the little white and purple wildflowers that were sprouting in the grass around them, and the resulting sparkle it brought to Penny's eyes.

The ginger-haired girl had a one-track mind with only two settings: Weiss, and everything else. When she was being enticed by the rest of the world, there was no keeping her from trying to satisfy her boundless curiosity. Consequently - and in the heiress' favor in this case - when she was alone with Weiss, Penny focused on nothing else.

Leaning back on her hands, Weiss sat up to look out over the water, and Penny leaned lightly on her left shoulder. It was times like these that appealed most to the heiress; while her girlfriend was certainly amusing with her unquenchable wonder of everything in existence, it was the quieter moments like these that spoke the loudest.

Penny knew Weiss enjoyed the silence too, so she liked to try and give her that much from time to time. She was still getting used to the concept of being Weiss' "girlfriend" and the same being true for her to Weiss.

Initially, she had just assumed the term meant two females being well-acquainted with one another, but evidently she had been mistaken, as Weiss had spent nearly an entire day correcting her interpretation of the word's meaning. After doing a bit of research on the things "couples" normally did, Penny wanted to try her best to make Weiss happy.

Presently, she wrapped her arms around the heiress' waist, snuggling closer to her shoulder.

"Penny, what are you doing?"

"Cuddling! I've looked into some things and isn't this what couples do?" she announced proudly.

Weiss was silent; although perhaps not the most ideal conditions for herself, Penny's thoughts were not wrong. Therefore, Weiss allowed the contact, though she was now struggling a bit in order to keep both herself and Penny upright.

There was a chill to Penny's embrace, and a hardness beneath the surface of her skin that was not found in any other human being. Weiss knew the girl's situation was... complicated, hence why she did not go around telling everyone her secret.

Weiss hated that people would think of her as a robot, a machine with no real emotions or thoughts. It infuriated Weiss just to think about it. Just as the Faunus were not animals, Penny was not a device or an application that could be swapped out for a newer model. She was a person too, and in only the short time Weiss had gotten to spend with her, she had discovered that this girl was more human than a great deal of the humans she knew.

Weiss closed her eyes and dozed a bit as the sounds of the park eased her thoughts, feeling Penny's arms tighten around her. A few minutes passed, and Weiss could feel her girlfriend start to shift a bit. She knew what was coming.

She opened her eyes to await the question, and sure enough, Penny lifted her head to seek out Weiss' eyes.

"Weiss? May I...?" She did not need to finish her question.

The heiress heaved a hopeless sigh. "You want to listen again?"

A nod.

"Fine."

Weiss laid herself onto her back in the warm grass, bringing Penny close to her side. The ginger-haired girl snuggled up to her, resting her head on Weiss' chest. It still made her a bit self-conscious in knowing Penny made it a habit to listen to her heartbeat, but Weiss had to remind herself how something so natural and commonplace to her must be fantastical to the other girl.

Their first meeting had not been the only time Weiss and Penny had quite literally bumped into one another to the point of bowling each other over. It had happened more times than the heiress cared to admit, and within recent weeks had produced rather strange results.

Weiss had been in a bit of a rush at the time, trying to find where Ruby had run off to and strutting at a fast pace around the corner of a building when she had crashed into Penny. Yet somehow, the petite girl had managed to land on top of Weiss, and the result was having her palm press to the heiress' collar.

As soon as she had felt the thrumming in her chest, Penny had instantly cried out in alarm, declaring there was some kind of monster living inside of her. It took everything within Weiss' power – including some of her ice – to prevent Penny from bringing out her weapons and cutting into her shoulder to dig it out.

Once she had calmed Penny down, Weiss had scolded her absent Master – whomever he was – for never properly educating her about the human body. It had taken an entire day for Weiss to complete her lecture, which had left Penny starry-eyed with awe.

When at last she understood the concept of the human heart, Penny had reached out and placed her palm back to Weiss' collar. The only reason the heiress had allowed the contact for more than three seconds at the time before they were dating was because she had been so taken aback. She had promptly smacked Penny's hand away after that, leaving the girl to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Weiss," she had mumbled guiltily. "I've just... never felt something like a heartbeat before." To prove her point, she had taken Weiss' hand and brought it to her chest.

Weiss had fully intended to pull away, but stopped herself when she realized what she felt. Or rather did not feel.

There was... nothing where Penny's heart should have been other than small ticking sounds, slight flickers of motion beneath her palm as things turned and twisted about.

It was almost saddening in a way, lonely...

Presently, it was as if Penny was remembering the emptiness in her chest as well, for Weiss felt her cling tighter to her.

Slowly, Weiss draped an arm around her small back, keeping her close.

Penny listened to her heartbeat, her bewilderment that it was allowing Weiss to breathe and function and hold her right now never dwindling. It was a steady and strong rhythm, though she also knew it could easily accelerate. But for some reason, that frightened her, as she did not believe Weiss' increased pulse was always associated with good things. So she liked it as it was now.

For some reason, words were buzzing about in Penny's mind, words she could not keep off her lips:

"Thank you for spending your time with me, Weiss. I know you could be training with your team or studying, but you chose to come see me today instead! I'm really grateful. Most people I know don't come to see me." Weiss listened as her chipper voice grew quieter by the second. "I guess I'm just surprised that you would go out of your way to see a malfunction like me."

There was a sharp intake of breath on Weiss' part and she immediately tensed up.

"What in the world makes you say that, you nitwit? You're not a malfunction."

"But I am!" Penny insisted. "My Master always says I'm one of his best products, but I'm not _the_ best. There must be something dysfunctional with my programming, some kind of minor error. I could be replaced with a better model at any time. I'm obsolete," she confessed, curling into Weiss more, not wanting to see her face; what if Weiss was angry? What if she would reject her for being a failure?

That was when Penny first experienced what she believed to be true fear. She suddenly wished she had not spoken, and remained still as she waited for some kind of response from Weiss.

"That's _preposterous,_" came the growl.

"What?"

"It's balderdash!" Weiss snapped, tightening her grip on Penny. "You're not dysfunctional nor are you obsolete. Did your Master tell you these things, or are you thinking them on your own?"

For once, Penny was silent.

Weiss drew her closer protectively before she went on. "Listen. Everyone has chinks in their armor, so to speak. I have them, my team has them, your Master has them, and you're no different. But that doesn't mean any of us are "errors", though we sometimes like to think that way."

"But humans are different!" Penny cried, pushing herself up to gaze down at Weiss with a distraught expression. It made Weiss' stomach twist. "Humans are born, not built like I was. They can changed and grow naturally and without the help of new programs." There was a strange sensation behind her eyes, one she had never felt before, and she briefly wondered what it was as she bowed her head. "What if I was a mistake?" she wondered.

Weiss was quiet for a moment as she let what she had just witnessed sink in - the sight of Penny on the verge of crying. She reached up and pulled the girl back down to her chest, cradling her like a newborn.

"We all wonder that at some point in our lives," Weiss murmured. "We wonder if we were mistakes. Just like you, humans don't have the choice of life; we're thrown into it without our consent. Our lives are decided by other people's decisions or lack thereof. And even the happiest, most secure person in the world can never be one hundred percent certain that their birth wasn't an accident."

She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "But it doesn't matter what you might think. You're _not_ a mistake. No one is. We didn't choose to have life, but now that we have it, we can give ourselves purpose. We can walk our own paths and find our own happiness. But sometimes we need others there to help us. Their lives become parts of ours, and the same is true about us."

She paused again, realizing she was starting to stray from what she wanted to say. "You're not a mistake, Penny. You're not an error or a failure or any of those things. You're Penny, and that's all you need to be."

She reached to one side, pulling a white flower from the grass and tucking it into the girl's soft, ginger hair.

Penny blinked at her with undisguised surprise. It was quite precious.

"You..." She stared down at Weiss. "You really mean all those things?"

"Would I have said them if I didn't?"

"So you don't think I'm... obsolete?"

"_Never,_" Weiss stated firmly. She slipped a hand behind Penny's head and brought her face closer. Weiss kissed her cheek, letting it linger, chuckling ever so slightly as she heard Penny gasp.

She pulled away, lying her head back in the soft grass. Penny was smiling again, and it relived her greatly; any other expression on her face was wrong.

Wanting to return the favor, Penny plucked a purple flower from the grass and tucked it behind Weiss' ear. Her gaze came to rest thoughtfully on Weiss' scar before she bent down to kiss it gently.

"Thank you, Weiss," she said, nuzzling her head beneath the heiress' chin and hugging her shoulders. "And I want to tell you that everything you just told me is true for you as well! The only reason you would think of such things as being a mistake is if you've thought them about yourself before. And I don't want you thinking like that - not ever. So I promise not to do it anymore if you won't, okay?"

Weiss felt her lips curling into a smile yet again, a feat Penny managed to extract from her more than any other person could.

"It's a promise, then."

"Okay!" Penny snuggled closer and Weiss tightened her embrace on her.

Before long, Penny was dozing, and Weiss felt it would not hurt to do the same. She looked up at the sky before closing her eyes.

Penny was not a human, nor was she a Faunus, but Weiss loved her.

And that was all she needed to know.

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**A/N: This somehow took a different path that expected but I enjoyed it so much! Hope you did too!**

**Please review!**


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